Mathew Withau
Mathew Withau & Naruto Uzumaki vs. Hatsuji Korero is a battle that takes place during the Third Exam of the 2007 Mid-Year Chunin Selection Exams. It is a piece of the larger battle, Mathew Withau vs. Naruto Uzumaki vs. Hatsuji Korero, and it is the first half of the final battle of the Chunin Exams. On one side of the fight is a team between fellow Hidden Leaf genin Mathew Withau and Naruto Uzumaki. The two of them fight against Hidden Stone genin Hatsuji Korero. During the battle, Hatsuji attempts to destroy the entire arena, killing everyone in the vicinity. The attempt fails, and Hatsuji flees and is hence established as a rogue ninja. Prelude All of the other matches in the Third Exam have been completed, leaving the last battle between the final three participants. Following the reprieve given by the judges to allow participants to recover from their previous matches, Naruto, Matt, and Hatsuji all meet in the arena to begin the battle. As the match begins, Matt asks Naruto if he has been paying attention to Hatsuji. Naruto confirms that he has, and Matt states that neither of them can beat him on their own. Matt proposes an alliance between the two of them to take on Hatsuji. Naruto agrees, and Hatsuji responds that while it is smart, the two of them still won't be able to beat him, and that giving up would be the best thing. Battle Matt and Naruto ignore him, and Naruto charges him with a kunai, while Matt hangs back and waits for an opening. Matt uses the Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, but Hatsuji uses the Substitution Jutsu to evade it. Naruto warns Matt as Hatsuji attacks him from behind, but Hatsuji is too quick and throws Matt into the arena wall. Naruto attempts to mount a counteroffensive, but Hatsuji negates this as well and knocks him to the ground. Matt uses the Water Style: Liquid Bullets, and Hatsuji evades this as well. Hatsuji mocks them, saying he expected a better fight. Matt attacks him directly, and when Hatsuji blocks him, Naruto follows through with several Shadow Clones. These are all ineffective, and as Hatsuji comes back into the arena, Matt uses Shadow Clones of his own, and a mix of Matt's and Naruto's clones attack Hatsuji. Hatsuji escapes them all without injury, and he then uses the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu to destroy all of the clones. Following the unsuccessful use of a fire-kunai on Matt's part, Hatsuji attacks Naruto directly, beating him back and as soon as he is done, Hatsuji attacks Matt. Matt is no more successful at fending him of as he is knocked to the ground as well. Hatsuji then attempts to use the Boulder Breaker technique on Matt, but Matt escapes and counters him. Hatsuji comes up into the air, and Matt attacks him with the Fire Style: Dragon Darts. Hatsuji once again evades it with the Substitution, and he attacks Naruto and throws him into the arena wall. Matt attacks him in retaliation, and as Hatsuji beats him back, Naruto attacks once again only to be knocked back into the wall. Matt fires a Fireball Jutsu at him, but Hatsuji evades it and returns fire with the same technique. Matt and Hatsuji clash, with Hatsuji knocking Matt back, and Naruto follows through with a Rasengan. Hatsuji counters this as well and sends Naruto flying into Matt, and as the two are knocked to the ground, they immediately get back up and keep fighting. Naruto is once again knocked back, and Matt uses the Fire Style: Ember Shot against Hatsuji, and when Hatsuji dodges it and Matt follows through with a kunai, Hatsuji escapes with Substitution. Hatsuji attacks Matt, sending him flying into the ground, and as Matt gets back up, he and Naruto regroup. Hatsuji asks them if it's sunk in that they can't defeat him. Matt responds by saying that they are both too stubborn to give up, and he and Naruto attack again. Hatsuji evades all of their attacks and comes up to the top of the stands, and Matt follows him up and attacks him, but Hatsuji counters him and sends him straight back down into the arena. Hatsuji comes down from the stands, and Naruto attacks him while Matt fires a Fireball Jutsu at him, and as Hatsuji is distracted, Matt and Naruto attack from multiple angles. Hatsuji uses the Earth Style: Rock Wall to fight them both off, leaving Matt and Naruto isolated from Hatsuji. Hatsuji then uses the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu against them, destroying all of the rocks, but Matt and Naruto emerge from the flames with Chidori and Rasengan respectively. Hatsuji is unconcerned by this combination as Matt and Naruto attack him, and he manages to counter them both, even evading Matt's superior speed. Hatsuji tells Matt that he is too predictable, asking him if sneak attacks are all he knows. Naruto and Matt continue to assault Hatsuji, but he continues the trend of countering everything they throw at him. As Matt battles Hatsuji one-on-one, Hatsuji knocks him to the ground, and Matt asks in frustration why nothing they do will work. As Hatsuji focuses on Naruto, Matt attempts to attack him from the flank, but Hatsuji uses Substitution to evade it. Hatsuji comments from the stands that they will have to do better than that, and as he returns to the arena, Naruto and Matt both attack him in turn. The three fighters initiate a full-on battle against each other, waging their full powers against one another. Naruto and Matt are unsuccessful in getting past Hatsuji's guard, and when Hatsuji injures Naruto, Matt retaliates with Fire Style. Hatsuji evades it and injures Matt as well, throwing him into the arena wall and knocking him unconscious. Naruto is back on his feet and continues attacking Hatsuji, although he is skeptic that he will be able to take the Stone ninja on by himself. Expecting Genma to call Matt out of the fight, Naruto is surprised to see the Exam proctor simply standing there, smiling at Matt. Hatsuji attacks Naruto with powerful Fire Style jutsu, and Naruto is knocked to the ground while Hatsuji intends to finish the fight with his Boulder Breaker technique. As Naruto prepares to accept defeat, he remembers back to his times with Sasuke Uchiha, during the previous Exams, as well as when they fought each other. Naruto then tells himself that he has to beat Hatsuji in order to catch up to Sasuke, and he manages to dodge Hatsuji's attack. Naruto conjures Shadow Clones to keep Hatsuji busy as he looks over at Matt, who is still unconscious, and Hatsuji quickly takes down all of Naruto's clones. Hatsuji attacks Naruto, beating him back relentlessly, and as Naruto attempts to gain some distance, Hatsuji closes in on him and continues attacking him. Naruto attempts to fight back, but Hatsuji counters everything he throws at him, beating him further and further across the arena. As Hatsuji corners Naruto, Matt hits him from behind with Chidori, severely injuring him and leaving him stunted to fight. Naruto, happy that Matt has returned to the battle, now realizes that Matt was never unconscious to begin with, and that he was biding his time to find a chance to hit Hatsuji. Hatsuji, angered by Matt's surprise attack, threatens them and tells them that it will take more than Chidori to defeat him. He then uses his secret technique, the Lava Style: Volcano Pit. Matt and Naruto are confused, having never seen the Lava Style before, and when Matt questions Kakashi about it, Kakashi tells them that it is a combination of Fire Style and Earth Style. Hatsuji then uses the Lava Style: Lava Shuriken against them, and when they both dodge it, Hatsuji's technique deals significant damage to the arena. Hatsuji attacks them both in turn, and when Matt dodges a Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu, Hatsuji charges him head-on, knocking him back with taijutsu and sending him into the arena wall. Naruto attacks in retaliation, but Hatsuji dodges it, and the Leaf genin then forms a Shadow Clone with which he activates a Rasengan. Hatsuji activates the Fire Style: Dragon Flight Jutsu, allowing him to fly above the arena away from any close-range attacks. Matt then activates his own creation, the Flight Jutsu, which allows him to fly as well, putting him back on even ground with Hatsuji. Matt and Hatsuji battle through the air, and Matt quickly establishes that long-range jutsu won't work on him. Matt decides on taijutsu for the time being, but Hatsuji activates the Fire Style: Pyrofists, enhancing his offensive capabilities. Matt attacks Hatsuji anyway, but Hatsuji gets past his guard, setting Matt's entire body ablaze and throwing him to the ground. However, it is a ruse that Hatsuji has no trouble seeing through, and he uses his Fire Style: Fire Shield to block Matt's Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu, and Naruto attacks Hatsuji from behind. Hatsuji sees the attack coming and sets Naruto on fire, and when it appears that this is the real Naruto, Naruto makes another surprise attack against Hatsuji with Rasengan. Naruto makes a direct hit with Rasengan, sending Hatsuji smashing into the ground of the arena, and Matt follows through by using the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu to attack him while he is still down. Hatsuji uses his Fire Style: Fire Armor to absorb the flames of the Dragon Flame Jutsu, and he assimilates them into armor to defend him from further attack. Matt and Naruto are both frustrated with their inability to defeat Hatsuji, and Matt resorts to his single Water Style jutsu, the Water Style: Liquid Bullets, but Hatsuji's Fire Armor evaporates the water, leaving the duo with few options. Hatsuji gloats that he has enough power to kill Matt and Naruto, and Matt asks Hatsuji who he is. Hatsuji responds that he's just a regular guy, looking for a good fight. He then activates his most powerful jutsu, the Fire Style: Dragon Burst. The technique threatens to envelop the entire arena in flames, killing everyone in sight, and just when Matt and Naruto have given up, Kakashi intervenes. The jonin uses the Water Style: Water Wall to intercept the Dragon Burst technique, saving Matt and Naruto. Kakashi states that his interference would normally cause immediate disqualification on the behalf of the Leaf genin, but it is irrelevant as Hatsuji has just attempted a coup d'état. Kakashi assigns Matt and Naruto their first S-Ranked mission of bringing Hatsuji down. The two genin accept, and Kakashi leaves to evacuate the arena. Matt tells Hatsuji that he can now stop avoiding his vital spots with Chidori, and Hatsuji has become exhausted due to chakra expenditure. Matt and Naruto make one final attack against Hatsuji, whose defensive Fire Style jutsu give him an edge over the two. However, the Leaf genin are finally able to keep pace with Hatsuji, who is now exhausted and cannot keep ahead, but he still manages to beat them back for a time. Matt uses the Wind Style: Air Shield, dropping down on top of Hatsuji to use the technique offensively, but Hatsuji evades it, and Matt and Naruto continue attacking him. Naruto attacks him with Rasengan, and just when it seems as though Hatsuji will escape this as well, Matt attacks him from behind with Chidori. The two Leaf genin make contact at the same time, hitting Hatsuji directly and enveloping all three of them in light. Aftermath When the light fades, all three of them are on the ground, but Hatsuji manages to get back to his feet. However, instead of attacking, he tells them that the next time they meet, things will be different. He then escapes the arena with the Dragon Flight Jutsu, making Naruto and Matt the winners. Matt and Naruto have failed their assigned mission, but it is irrelevant as the immediate threat has been vanquished and peace has been restored to the Chunin Exams. The two of them wipe the blood off of them, and Matt and Naruto ready themselves for the final battle between them. Category:Battle